Xanthan gum has been used widely to prepare a variety of aqueous solutions having high viscosity and good suspending properties. A difficulty with xanthan gum has been its resistance to dispersibility and hydration. Typically, xanthan gum powder must be subjected to high agitation, as in a typical kitchen blender, to get it to disperse and hydrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,337 teaches dry-mixing silicon dioxide with nondispersible material such as xanthan gum and then coating this admixture with an emulsion of edible fat and glycerol.